Mettner took his phone back and peered at the photo. “I don’t think we can get the dogs back. They had a couple of other calls elsewhere in the county.”
“Try,” said Chitwood. “Quinn’s right. We need to cover the area around Harper’s Peak and Reed Bryan’s farm. Move some of the searchers from the Harper’s Peak mountain to the farm.”
“There’s still the matter of Paxton,” Noah pointed out. “If it was Rory who crashed the van into a house and then ran back up the mountain, that means Pax could still be out there driving the other van. Do we have any leads on that vehicle?”
“We’re still looking,” Mettner told him. “We’ve got a BOLO out. City and state police are looking for it.”
Josie said, “Has anyone checked the produce market?”
Mettner raised a brow. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Paxton Bryan’s world is narrow, Mett. Home, the market, Lorelei Mitchell’s house. That’s it. That’s what he knows.”
Chitwood said, “He drives all over town with his dad delivering produce. It’s not that narrow.”
“But he’s on the run,” Josie said. “Think about it. Everyone he cares for has either been killed or gone missing in the last forty-eight hours. He won’t be thinking straight. Even if he had something to do with these murders, it’s a stressful time for him. He’s going to go somewhere he finds comforting. Mett, you said you’ve got searchers out in the woods between the Mitchell house and Harper’s Peak. That’s a huge area to cover. When’s the last time anyone looked inside any of the structures on Lorelei’s property?”
He looked at her as if he wanted to argue. He often argued with her. It drove Noah crazy, but Josie appreciated it. It meant he was thinking critically, and also, she needed to be challenged to stay sharp. She said, “Just spit it out, Mett.”
“I don’t think Pax would do that. It’s… stupid.”
“Mett,” Noah said.
Josie held up a hand, silencing him. “It is stupid, but what would also be stupid is for us not to check the most obvious places. How long will it take to have someone swing by the market and the Mitchell house? You’ve already got units out there.”
Mettner looked at Chitwood, who shrugged. “We need to find this kid, Mett. Today. Now. Do whatever you have to do.”
He sighed. “Fine. I’ll send units. What about Emily? Any idea where she could be?”
“She might be with Pax,” Josie pointed out.
She didn’t say what they were all thinking—that the reason no one had found her yet was because she was dead.
Thirty-One
Two hours later, an exhausted Gretchen ambled into the ICU waiting room. Everyone else had gone in and out of the room all day to eat, sleep, shower, and change clothes. Only Josie and Noah stayed. Sawyer was around somewhere, Josie knew, because she had seen him coming in and out of Lisette’s room at his appointed time.
Now only Trinity and Shannon remained to keep vigil with Josie and Noah. Both of them slept on separate couches. Quietly, Gretchen walked over to where Josie and Noah sat. “How’s Lisette?” she asked.
Josie said, “They had to drain some fluid from one of the wounds in her abdomen, but other than that, she’s hanging on. Not awake much. We get to go in every hour for about ten minutes, but that’s all.”
Noah asked, “Do you have an update?”
Gretchen pulled her reading glasses from her pocket and put them on. Then she took out her notebook and flipped through some pages. She looked at the door. “The Chief should be right behind me. I just saw him at the vending machine.”
They waited a few minutes until Chitwood came strolling in with a bag of potato chips and a Coke in his hands. He stood beside Gretchen, as though he was the one waiting for her and said, “Let’s hear it.”
Gretchen shot him a dirty look and then turned to Josie. “Mett said to tell you that you were right.”
“Really?” said Noah with a slight smile on his face.
“Not you,” Gretchen said. “The boss.”
“I know,” Noah said. “You found Pax?”
Gretchen nodded. “The second van was parked behind the produce market. He had used several pallets, empty crates and bushels to cover it up, although not very well.”
“Was Emily with him?” Josie asked.
“No.”
“Where was he?” Josie prodded. “With the van?”
“No. He was in the greenhouse at the Mitchell property. Curled up under one of the tables. Didn’t put up a fight when patrol took him in.”
Chitwood tucked the Coke can under his arm and opened his chips, the plastic crinkling. He popped a few chips into his mouth.
Josie said, “This is going to sound weird, but did you find any… buttons? Either in the van or in the greenhouse?”
Gretchen raised a brow. “You mean like the kind at the Reed Bryan murder scene? The tufted gray buttons? No. Mett told everyone to be on the lookout for those after he met with you earlier.”
“Has Pax said anything?” Noah asked.
“No. He was advised of his rights. He hasn’t asked for an attorney. The only thing he has asked for is to talk to Josie.”
Josie’s gaze snapped upward toward Gretchen’s face. “What?”
“He wants to talk to you and only you.”
Chitwood’s fingers froze halfway between his chip bag and his mouth.
Noah said, “That’s not possible.”
Josie felt the pull, as she always had, toward work. Purpose. Action. Yet, her heart was in the other room with Lisette. She didn’t want to leave. What if Lisette took a turn for the worse, or if she died and Josie wasn’t there? On the other hand, it had been hours with little change. When the doctor came to tell them they were going to drain some fluid from her abdomen, he had said it was going
